The Reason Why Babies Should Not Sleep Face-down Now Uncovered

Some researchers at the University of Adelaide have come up with the reason why premature babies, are not to sleep with their faces down. It has just been known that this can lead to problems relating to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The possibility of having the SIDS is high because when babies sleep face-down, the brain is not very capable of controlling some of the involuntary actions such as head and neck control, breathing and heartbeat.

The research was carried out by Dr Fiona Bright and Professor Roger Byard of the Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide. Some of their tests were analyzed at the Boston Children’s Hospital and a lab belonging to Professor Hannah Kinney.

To discover more of the findings by yourself, you can pick up the journal “PLOS ONE.” The results there are a summary of what was analyzed from 55 SIDS cases.

Dr Fiona Bright said: “One of the reasons why SIDS is so devastating for families is that death occurs with no warning and no obvious signs of illness.”

Following the result of the tests, the researchers believe that the next vital step to take is to develop a screening technique to identify babies who are at a risk of having SIDS.

The first time SIDS might have struck was in 2011 when some devastated parents lost their four-month-old son. Those parents later formed River’s Gift SIDS charity to assist with funds towards the uncovering of their son’s sudden demise. The charity organization helped with the funds needed for Dr Bright and his team to carry out this research.